After his last class, William Anderson went back to his faculty office, logged on to his campus computer, and looked up were-vixens.
WERE-VIXEN
The feminine gender of a werefox.
While all were-vixens possess these traits to some extent, some members of the species are noted for their high sex appeal and arousal. Age and motherhood are the only known factors to affect this condition.
There was more data, detailing the origin, history, and basic description of the species. But it was the unusual closing statement that made Anderson pause.
As with any were creature, a normal human having sexual intercourse with a were-vixen will result in that person becoming either a werefox or another were-vixen, depending upon the subject's gender.
That made William decide he would not take the sexy co-ed up on any offer she made. Despite having given some thought to the Dean's statement, he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to become a were himself, let alone of what variety.
Then, chastising himself for not thinking of it sooner, William looked up werewolves.
There was a lot of data on the subject, including a disclaimer that a lot of the information within popular media sources was actually wrong, an intentional misdirection plan on the part of werewolf society. Werewolves could change outside of the traditional full moon period, although they preferred the night time because they were nocturnal creatures, not because they couldn't change during daylight hours.
There were three catalysts listed for becoming a werewolf. Bite, scratch, and sex.
Why does sex keep coming up? he wondered, as William sought more information on were society in general.
When the data appeared on his computer screen, he took a good long look at it.
Werewolves were one of, if not the oldest known member of the genre. After a lengthy discussion on the history and possible origins for the overall culture, and a link that sent him to a very long list of all the known species of weres, William read with great interest the section on becoming.
CREATION
Weres are either born naturally to a were-couple or are intentionally created.
NATURAL BIRTH
The child of a were-couple will appear as a normal human being until entering puberty, actual age and time of first change are determined by species.
There are rare occasions when an outside factor, such as a life threatening situation or other dire emergency, can initiate the very first transformation.
Regardless of when a were-child experiences their first transformation, they can still affect a normal human being. See INDUCTION CEREMONIES and EXPOSURE CATALYSTS.
Clicking the first link brought that information to his computer screen.
INDUCTION CEREMONIES
The various were-species have different rituals and ceremonies concerning new members joining their specific group.
Most details of such events are kept confidential among the individuals involved, but transforming a normal human being into a were still involves exposing the subject to one of the known causes of change.
Then William clicked the other link to find out what was actually involved.
EXPOSURE CATALYSTS
Despite some theories to the contrary, becoming a were is more scientific than fantasy. There is no "magic spell" or "curse" involved.
One has to be exposed to were-microbiology. A normal human being has absolutely no immunity to the trans-mutative nature of the were "virus", for lack of a more proper term concerning the actual microbes of were-physiology involved.
Once a human has been exposed, they will become a member of the species that affected them, depending upon the conditions necessary for transformation. (See individual species for more details.) However, once affected, a were cannot change another were's species under any circumstances, even if the exposure was accidental and the subject has not experienced their first change yet.
The myth of exchanging genders during transformation has also been proven false. The subject retains their gender, regardless of what type of were they become. Becoming a were also does not affect the subject's personality or sexual preferences.
William thought that was good to know. Nate would still be his son, no matter what. Then he kept reading the entry.
The three basic methods of exposure are:
1. Biting a subject, with were-microbiology entering the human's blood stream through the newly created wound. Depending upon the severity and duration of the bite, the first change could be hours or days away, conditional to the species involved.
2. Scratch. Similar to biting, only the human will take longer to experience their first change because of the shorter duration of initial exposure.
3. Sexual intercourse. Intimate/sexual relations resulting in an exchange of bodily fluids, especially from the were partner, will result in exposure and is the fastest known method of initiating a transformation. The time lag from exposure to first change can be seconds or hours, compared to the other two methods. Even traditional methods of "protection" (condoms, diaphragms, etc) will not prevent exposure to were-microbiology.
That last statement scared William. While I've had more dalliances that she realizes, Martha will know if I cheat on her with one of these were people.
He sat back in his desk chair, planning to remain celibate with everyone but his wife, when William Anderson noticed what time it was.
Considering the lateness of the hour, he shut down his computer, packed his briefcase, locked up his office, and headed to the parking lot to collect his car and head home for the night, not realizing he was being watched by a certain co-ed in the bushes.